Mansfield edge ever closer
Powergen Midlands 2 East
BANBURY BULLS 8 MANSFIELD 38
Mansfield got off to a tentative start at Banbury. Could it have been the howling gale and torrential rain they faced or just the knowledge that they required their eighth away win of the season on opponents grounds to stay top of the league going into the final game?
Hinckley’s nerves showed in an edgy five point home win over Ampthill and now the final Saturday sees them travel to Syston, who crashed to defeat at Newark last weekend, and Huntingdon, 42 – 8 victors over Loughborough Students, make the trip to Eakring Road.
A fumble from the kick off saw Bulls immediately pressurising in midfield and after Mansfield’s defence strayed offside a wind assisted penalty had Mansfield 3-0 adrift within 90 seconds. Thankfully that was the only time the Blue and Whites were to be headed as they worked to nullify the gale with tight handling moves moving the ball around the park.
A Taylor catch set up a drive from Roberts and Harrison, who crowned his return as first team hooker with a solid scrumaging performance and speed to the breakdowns. A scrum on half way allowed Roberts and Davies to break away and when Wilson broke tackles Newbould appeared on his shoulder to move play under the posts. Illegal defence and Rutter had Mansfield back on level terms.
With the wind making many moves and lineout throwing a lottery Rushby time and again tidied loose ball as the Bulls backs faced fierce Mansfield tackling. He also gave the blindside options with jinking runs committing defenders before linking with his pack. Desperate for another score Holmes, Harrison and Newbould showed pace through the middle. Wilson ran back Banbury’s hacked clearance and Taylor commanding so much line ball allowed Stringfellow and Williams crunching runs into the heart of the opposition.
A series of over eager entries to the rucks saw Banbury loose a man to the sin bin and Mansfield capitalised. A scrum on halfway allowed Rutter the room to draw the defence forward an chip tantalisingly into the space created. Wilson made the ground and took the ball on first bounce before blistering pace took him clear round the full back for Mansfield’s opening try. Not for the last time of the afternoon the conversion cannoned back from the upright.
Roberts, Stringfellow and Holmes moved the restart right back into the Bulls half before Robinson joined the line linking with Wilson and Storey. Reaching the half hour Mansfield struck a vital blow. Jones had the power to take him through two tackles and his pop up pass sent Wilson for the line. Rushby’s angled run was cut short by a head high tackle but the referee played advantage as the Mansfield pack followed up and Pritchard secured the first of his brace of tries.
Davies continued to work away on the blindside and with the interval beckoning he committed the back row, fed Rutter and Rushby who had the forwards up in support driving to line. The touch down came from Harrison, just reward for his afternoon’s efforts. Despite a run from Williams and Rutter sidestepping three men before seeing his final pass just intercepted which could have added to their 18-3 lead Mansfield turned round satisfied with their efforts into the elements.
What nobody expected was that with the wind it would be 24 minutes before the scoreboard moved again. Mansfield rode out ten minutes without Davies, had their tackling severely tested before replacement Karl Robinson made ball available but Bulls infringe under the posts. Rutter stretched the lead to eighteen points and the Blue and Whites took full charge of the closing stages.
Jones drove the opposition back in the tackle and a wild pass was intercepted by Storey in his own half. His speed gave him a solo run under the posts sixty metres away. Pike changed with Stringfellow as Rutter converted and Lindsay, back from injury replaced Holmes. Banbury had a flash of inspiration from their centres and a move from their 22 rewarded despite last ditch defence on the Mansfield line but within two minutes Storey was rounding off a classic three quarters move.
Good scrum ball and Rutter broke, Jones and Wilson moved it wide and Wayne Robinson creating the space fed Storey for a run to the corner. Just to add icing to the cake Lindsay forced a five metre penalty, Rutter elected to tap and after Pike and Karl Robinson breached the Banbury line Pritchard was able to control the touchdown.
The 38-8 win carried Mansfield into the Huntingdon game on April 17th. with 36 points, the same as Hinckley, but a 499 positive points difference – 131 better than the Leicestershire side. “It really is up to us now,” said Coach John Tasker. “You can’t ask for more than a home game in this position, the squad have worked hard for promotion for eight months now they have a chance to finish it off in front of our supporters at Eakring Road. We certainly won’t underestimate Huntingdon. They have been the form side of the second half of the season, had a big win over the Students and always give us a tough game.” Preparations for that final game will not have been helped by the Notts. RFU ordering Mansfield to travel to Newark last night or face elimination from the Notts. County Cup. Despite Newark having refused three dates offered since the draw was made last autumn Mansfield have to travel short of six regular first team players.
Mansfield 3rds avenged their only league defeat of the season with a well earned 43-10 victory against a much improved Ollerton 2nd team. Tim Smith opened the scoring for Mansfield with a jinking run from the half way after good work from the forwards had tied up the Ollerton pack. Mansfield were soon 10-0 up after the first of two tries for full-back Garrett. However, strong running from the Ollerton forwards eventually paid off as the scrum half finished off under the posts to bring them back into the game.
Not to be out done, the Mansfield front eight began to show dominance with Maddocks and Newton making ground before Saunders powered over from short range. Fletcher converting.
After the break it was Ollerton who crossed the line first, but breakaway tries from Hughes and Garrett following handling errors in the Ollerton back line opened up a comfortable lead for Mansfield. Brown and Toon completed the seven try haul with Fletcher converting five.
Mansfield 3rd team now need to win their final league game of the season in two weeks against Matlock 2nds to secure top spot in their first season in the 2nd team Security Plus Pennant Group 3.
Mansfield under 12s just missed out on a place in the final of the David Crosbie memorial tournament on Saturday, going out in the semis to Buxton. The group stages saw Mansfield win convincingly over Ilkeston, and West Bridgeford claim a draw against a Mansfield side brimming with confidence and self belief. A mix up over kick off times saw Mansfield brought out of the changing rooms, straight into the semi final against a strong Buxton side. The match ended scoreless thanks to several try saving tackles from both teams, and extra time beckoned. The fitness of the Mansfield lads was beginning to show over the Buxton side, but again extra time remained scoreless. This brought on a period of “Golden Try”, which again could have gone either way when well into the final minute, Buxton broke from a Maul and scored the winning try. The efforts of all squad members could not be faulted, and each member should take great pride from the performance. To round of the day for the Mansfield contingent, the lads were awarded the fair play trophy, for an outstanding all round performance. The coaches would like to express their thanks to all involved for their hard work and great behaviour whilst representing the club.
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